The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1887-05-14

ject my husband does not like to have
mentioned. / was surprised to hear
that the priest had shown himself to
YOU, because until now this has never
happened except to a member Of our
own family. What you saw was nc
visitor but an apparitioa.
IAN apparition?' calculated the
Bishop.
Yes continued the hostess. s'and
one whose supernatural character it is
impossible to doubt. for during the two
years we have lived in this house it has
shown itself perhaps dozen times to
my husband and myself, under circum-
stances in which either self-deception
or imposition were quite out Of the
question. Since we cannot explain it,
and are well assured that it is due to no
natural causes, we have decided not TO
speak of it to any one. But since you
have seen it, my lord, Will YOU do me a
| fayOr?"
Most certainly, if it be within my
power replied he.
II have often thought" she resumed,
shat If any one could be found who
had the courage to address it, we might
perhaps, be relieved from its presence.
Can you-will you-make some trivial
excuse for going back to the drawing.
room for few minutes, see if the
priest be still there, and if he be. speak
to him--adjure him to depart from this
house--exorcise him in fact?"
After some hesitation. the Bishop
agreed 10 make the proposed expert
ment Ills whispered conversation
with the hostess having been apparent
~ unobseryed, he excused himself to
her in a louder tone for q few moments
absence, and left the room, waving
back the servant who would have at
tended him. It WAS with a strange
thrill of awe that. on entering the draw
ing room, he perceived the figure Of the
priest still seated in the same spot
still perusing his great breviary, it such
it was; but with mistaken resolution,
he walked slowly forward and stood di-
rectly in front Of the apparition. AS
before, this priest greeted him with a
courteous inclination Of the head, but
this time, instead of Immediately re-
farming to the book. his eyes rested,
with look of infinite WEAKNESS and
yet with a kind Of a suppressed eager
ness, also, upon the Bishops face. AZ
ter a moments pause, the Bishop said,
slowly and solenanly: SIN the name of
God, who are you and what do you
want?"
The apparition closed its book, rose
from its seat. stood confronting the
Bishop, and, after slight hesitation,
spoke ia a low and measured voice:
II have never been so adjured before;
I will tell you who ] am and what I
want. AS you see am a
priest Of the Catholic Church; and,
eighty years ago, this house in which
we now stand was mine. was a good
rider, and was extremely fond of hunt
ing when opportunity offered, and one
day ( was about to start for The neigh
boring meet, when young lady of very
high family called upon me for the pur-
pose of making a confession. What
she said, of course, I may not repeat;
bat it affected very closely the honor of
one OF the noblest houses Of England,
and it appeared to me Of such extreme
Importance that There being certain
implications in the case) committed
the grave indiscretion-the sin even,
for it is strictly forbidden by our Chulch
of making notes of the confession as
[ heard it. When l had absolved and
dismissed her I found that it was only
barely possible for rne to reach the rem
devious in time, but even ia my haste I
Gid not forget the supreme Importance
Of guarding carefully my notes of the
terrible secret just committed to me.
For purposes which I need not now de-
tail, had had few bricks looseDed in
the wall Of one OF the tower passages of
GIlS uUlSG d1iu ~ SllAGll lSCebS luduc-
just the place. thought, in which my
notes would be perfectly safe fron, any
conceivable accident until my return,
when I intended to master intricacies
Of the case at my leisure, and then at
once destroy the dangerous paper.
Meantime, hurried!y shut it
Between the leaves: Of the book
/ had held in my hand, ran
down stairs and thrust the book in
to the recess. replaced the bricks, sprang
up my horse, and rode Off at full speed.
= That day, in the hunting
field, was thrown from my horse and
killed on the spot; and ever since it has
been my dreary fate to haunt this
earthly home of mine and try to avert
the consequences Of my sin-try to
guard from any possibility of discovery
the fatal notes which so rashly and
wrongly made, Never until now mas
any human being dared to speak to me
boldly as you have done; never until
n